By MARSHA
MERCER
When
President Donald Trump delivers his first speech to a joint session of Congress
Tuesday night, he’ll see a House chamber as divided as the nation.
Dozens of
Democratic members of Congress boycotted Trump’s inauguration, but they plan to
turn the joint session into a mini protest. Many are bringing as guests Muslims,
the disabled and other minorities who they say will be hurt by Trump’s
policies.
So Trump
faces a test: Will he be the combative campaigner people either love or hate or
will he offer an olive branch?
Trump gave
Congress, even Republicans, the back of his hand in his inaugural address, failing
to mention House Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
He castigated the same politicians he’ll address Tuesday in prime time.
“Their
victories have not been your victories, their triumphs have not been your
triumphs,” he said. “And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there
was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.”
Stephen
Miller, the aide who wrote the inaugural address, with its bleak picture of
“American carnage,” is also writing the joint session speech. This time,
though, the president will present an optimistic, positive vision, officials
say.
Trump, who
insists he inherited “a mess,” will talk about what he’s done so far and where
he plans to take the country in broad terms.
“It’s
important for the American people to know that he was an agent of change; he
came here to get things done, and he didn’t waste any time,” White House press
secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Wednesday.
“In the drafts that I’ve seen so far, it is going to be a
very strong blueprint of where he wants to take this country,” Spicer said.
While Trump
has signed executive orders to achieve some of his goals, he needs legislation
for many of the big items on his to-do list: tax cuts, infrastructure projects,
health care reform and a secure border. That means working with Capitol Hill.
But Trump’s
dismal approval ratings make it easier for Democrats, and perhaps some
Republicans, to keep him at arm’s length. Just 42 percent of Americans approve
of the job Trump is doing, lower by far than any other president after a month
in office, Gallup reports. A nationwide poll by Quinnipiac University released
Wednesday found Trump with 38 percent job approval.
Rep. Jim
Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat, is leading the effort among House Democrats
to bring as guests people who have faced discrimination and made positive
contributions.
Langevin’s
guest is Dr. Ehsun Mirza, a Pakistani-born critical care physician and
naturalized citizen who is a leader in Rhode Island’s Muslim community.
Trump’s
speech is not officially a State of the Union address. The last five presidents
have spoken to Congress early in their first year but have waited until the
second year to deliver a State of the Union address.
After the
bitter and protracted 2000 election, President George W. Bush addressed
Congress Feb. 27, 2001, on his Administration’s Goals.
“Together we
are changing the tone in the nation’s capital,” Bush proclaimed. He promised
education would be his top priority.
“Let us
agree to bridge old divides. But let us also agree that our good will must be
dedicated to great goals. Bipartisanship is more than minding our manners; it
is doing our duty,” Bush said.
Which
reminds us that even if we like what a president says at such august occasions,
we should take their words with a grain of salt.
In February
1981, shortly after he took office, President Ronald Reagan addressed Congress on
his Program for Economic Recovery, calling for massive tax cuts, spending cuts
on domestic programs and hefty increases in defense spending.
Warning that
the national debt was approaching $1 trillion, Reagan offered a dandy word
picture.
“If you had
a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only 4 inches high, you’d be a
millionaire,” Reagan said. “A trillion dollars would be a stack of thousand
dollar bills 67 miles high.”
But Reagan’s
policies only exacerbated the debt. By the time he left office the national
debt had nearly tripled. That stack of thousand dollar bills would have been
160 miles high.
©2017 Marsha
Mercer. All rights reserved.
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